Question, what exactly is austism and aspergers?

[MomtoCandJ]

This might seem like a dumb question but what is the indicators of autism and aspergers and what is the difference between the two? I have an autistic god daughter and just realized that I have no idea what autism really is.

[Mergath]

In general, having an autistic spectrum disorder means that a person will possibly have trouble with social interaction and language, have very specific interests, repetitive behaviors, and often some degree of intellectual impairment, though the symptoms differ from person to person. There are a lot of websites out there that can provide you with tons of great information, so just google "autism" and you'll be all set.

 

Aspergers is essentially a high-functioning form of autism. Aspies tend to have great verbal skills and average or above average IQ, and often have very specific interests, along with some degree of social impairment.

[MomtoCandJ]

ok thanks, just enough information to know what I am looking at but not so much that it overwhelms me. Now if God forbid anything happens to her parents, I will be back on here asking all kinds of questions

[Reya]

My brother's first diagnosis was PPD-NOS. He was later "upgraded" to high functioning autism and then Asperger's because no PPD-NOS kid should end up that high functioning. And yet, he is.

 

An extreme need for routines, difficulty in dealing with other people (especially strangers!), having a great deal of difficulty processing information that isn't directly linked to their experience or bluntly factual, expressive speech "blocks," lectures rather than conversations, an inability to handle interpersonal conflict, a problem dealing with change, problems with eye contact--all of these are typical problems of Aspie and austistic kids, to different degrees.

 

IQ is notoriously difficult to measure in autistics due to the deep degree of impairment in areas that affect a psychologist's ability to administer an IQ test. For example, my brother tested very consistently at around 110. However, every psychologist who tested him said that they knew that his real score should be a minimum of 15 points higher--and probably much higher than that, but that his difficulties with them inhibited the giving of the test.

[Mom22ns]

My brother's first diagnosis was PPD-NOS. He was later "upgraded" to high functioning autism and then Asperger's because no PPD-NOS kid should end up that high functioning. And yet, he is.

 

 

I don't know where you got this, but PDD-NOS just means they have some symptoms of autism but not enough for a diagnosis of autism. Some PDD-NOS kids have very few symptoms and are very high functioning. They may be much higher than an Aspie. For example, my PDD-NOS guy has a gifted IQ, but had serious language delays when he was young so was not labeled Aspie. However, he is not overly obsessed with anything and I have only met a few Aspies that I would say were so mildly affected.

 

Autism, HFA, PDD-NOS, and Aspie are generally lined up in that order as far as the spectrum, but there is much overlap. I have met some Aspies who are so severely obsessive compulsive and have such poor social skills they are far more severely affected than some of the HFAs and PDD-NOSs that were highly intelligent and able to overcome their issues more successfully. There is no straight line.

[Misty]

I don't know where you got this, but PDD-NOS just means they have some symptoms of autism but not enough for a diagnosis of autism. Some PDD-NOS kids have very few symptoms and are very high functioning. They may be much higher than an Aspie.

 

I agree.. and I tend to view Asperger's and PDD-NOS as one and the same.. Only with PDD-NOS (in my view) there are usually not obsessions. There may also have been a speech delay or something that would prevent them from getting an Aspie label.

 

But anyway, I see it like this (in order).. Classic autism, HFA, and then Asperger's & PDD-NOS are pretty similar to me as far as their functioning level.

 

It doesn't really matter though.. In a couple of years it will all be called "Autism Spectrum Disorder" per the new DSM guidelines.

[Cortana]

My son is HFA. He has several repetitive behaviors, a lot of difficulty in social situations, very little control of his emotions, he has "rages" (an example is he will become so overwhelmed and overstimulated that he will go in his room, scream/rant/shout/cry and tear his room apart. After he calms down, he really has no idea what he's done), major anxiety issues, easily frustrated, moderate to severe speech delay, difficulty with eye contact, obsessive compulsive, hyperactive, attention dificiency, sensory processing disorder, difficulty adjusting to change, sleep disorder, and these are the main issues for him. His official diagnosis is classic autism-high functioning.

 

I wanted to agree with Reya that IQ is very difficult to establish in kids with ASD. The psychologist who performed ds's IQ test cautioned us to take the results with a grain of salt because kids with autism are difficult to test accurately. IQ tests are not set up for kids with autism and can score kids with ASD with a low IQ when they may be highly intellegent. I read a story of a young lady with non-verbal autism. She was considered to have low intellegence as a youngster. As an adult, she has completed 2 master's degrees. My ds was scored with a low-average score, but every teacher he has had will tell you he is not of low intellegence (he is blowing away his current ps teacher with his math, science and art skills).

[asta]

What is Asperger's Syndrome?

 

The website Wrongplanet.net is a wealth of information. It is run and written BY autistics/aspies FOR autistics, aspies, and the general public.

 

HTH

 

 

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